COVID-19 District Information

Effective Friday, March 20, 2020 at 4:00 PM, the Jim Thorpe Area School District has Shut Down all School Buildings and the District Office due to the COVID-19. Essential staff have been designated to maintain the district operations during the district wide closure.

As per Governor's Wolf's statewide order of April 9, 2020, all schools in the Jim Thorpe Area School District have been ordered closed for the remainder of the academic school year. The Continuity of Education plan implemented on April 6, 2020 will remain in effect for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.

This page is a resource for the Jim Thorpe Area District response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

District Actions

The district is working to support the Olympian community during these challenging times. To that effect, the district is doing the following actions:

Breakfast/Lunch
The district will be providing breakfast & lunch for all students in the Jim Thorpe Area School District. Pickup times are 11:00AM-12:30PM at the following locations: Jim Thorpe Area High School (curbside), Jim Thorpe Area District Office (parking lot), Penn-Kidder Campus (parent pickup), Penn Forest Fire Company #2 on Rt. 534, and Christ Lutheran Church.

Continuity of Learning

The district is moving forward with a continuity of learning plan, which has been submitted to PDE in the form of a combination of direct instruction and enrichment

JTASD Continuity of Student Learning Plan.pdf
April 2, 2020 Parent Letter.pdf
April 2 SpecialEd Parent Letter.pdf

Facilities
All buildings in the district are going through an enhanced cleaning process. Access to the facilities has been restricted to essential district personnel only. No outside organizations are permitted to use the facilities.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information
Finally, the district has provided some resources on talking with your children about the coronavirus, as well as links and resources from the PA Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website. We encourage you to review the procedures for taking the proper precautions to keep you and your family safe during this time.

Teaching Students about Coronavirus
COVID-19 Resources and Links

We will continue to update these resources and communicate with you via our SchoolMessenger alert system with phone calls and emails, our website and social media. Please make sure your information is updated so we can reach out to you. We will get through this together united as an Olympian community.

Superintendent's Message: April 2, 2020

Beginning on Tuesday, April 7, the Jim Thorpe Area School District will begin our "Continuity of Education" plan involving "Planned Instruction" focusing on new 4th Quarter Material (JTASD Continuity of Student Learning Plan.pdf). Due to the COVID19 and the social distancing mandates, JTASD will start this E-Learning program where students get their instruction at home. Please review the attached letters: April 2, 2020 Parent Letter.pdf and April 2 SpecialEd Parent Letter.pdf .

Additionally, it will be extremely important to establish structure and routines in the upcoming weeks. JTASD has a few recommendations for students to structure their home for learning:

Identify a space, such as a dining room table, that could become the study space. It is beneficial to make this space different from a bedroom or other locations with distractions.
Develop a structured schedule for school work (i.e. 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.). This structure will begin to form a routine.
Eliminate other distractions, such as cell phones and television, from the environment.
Take a few moments to help your child get a feel for the assignments. This is a new skill. Students are not used to getting their assignments in an E-Learning environment. Help them establish a schedule and priority list to complete school work.
Reinforce the importance of consistency in sleep patterns.
Encourage your child to take breaks, to refresh themselves.
Ask for help, when you need it. Asking for help in an E-Learning environment can take the form of an e-mail or phone call or whatever platform the teachers sets up to check in and out with students. The important takeaway is to ask.

Please continue to monitor the Jim Thorpe Area School District web-site www.jimthorpesd.org to receive updates.

We are looking forward to undertaking this new journey of E-Learning with our Olympians.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Mr. Rushefski

Student Attendance and Participation

Each day students are to submit attendance using the specified building Google form by 9:00 PM. Students not submitting attendance via the form will be marked as absent. If you are unable to access the form online, please email or call the school office. Parents should email the school attendance secretary at the email below if their child is sick and unable to participate that day.

Jim Thorpe Area High School
Attendance form: https://forms.gle/QRP8gDzNJjdxhBVp8
Attendance secretary: Lucy Franko (lfranko@jtasd.org)

L. B. Morris School
Attendance form: https://forms.gle/vYzntbiUm3Kemkuo9
Attendance secretary: Denise Lignore (dlignore@jtasd.org)

Penn-Kidder Campus
Attendance form: https://forms.gle/NNAnTaVH7Qnf7CNz9
Attendance secretary: Anita Repecki (arepecki@jtasd.org)

Students are expected to participate in instruction and complete the assigned learning activities.

Please note: If a student is not participating or submitting assignments for 3 consecutive days, the teacher will contact the parents/guardians and alert building administration.

Project OLE

The district has provided the opportunity for students to take home laptops and iPads in the interest of continuing student learning. Kajeet Internet hotspots have been distributed for those families who have requested them for internet service. At the present time, there is a waiting list. Should you need one, please contact Jerome Brown, Director of Technology & Information Services at jbrownjr@jtasd.org or at 579-325-5139.

Technology Support

If you are experiencing an issue with your student iPad or laptop, please complete the tech support request below for your school. All efforts will be made to reply in one school day.

Jim Thorpe Area High School:
Support form: https://forms.gle/9LQCRy4PvTKauqvG9
Computer technician: Stacey Tomko

L. B. Morris School:
Support form: https://forms.gle/D7VNRC6SAqUfdZNx8
Computer technician: Wes Hurley

Penn-Kidder Campus:
Support form: https://forms.gle/fypaPDRrFF9zJJRV9
Computer technician: Orell Gaynor

If you are unable to complete the form, please contact Jerome Brown, Director of Technology & Information Services at jbrownjr@jtasd.org or at 570-325-5139.

If you are unable to complete the form, please contact Jerome Brown, Director of Technology & Information Services at jbrownjr@jtasd.org or at 570-325-5139.

Blue Ridge Learn at Home Initiative
The Jim Thorpe Area School District wanted to make our Olympian families aware that Blue Ridge Cable is providing free Internet services at home for 60 days for new customers who do not yet have Internet service. The Learn at Home initiative comes with a modem, WiFi connection and a 10Mbps download speed for 60 days free of charge. To take advantage of this offer, please call Blue Ridge at 1-800-222-5377. The Jim Thorpe Area School District is grateful to Blue Ridge for providing this essential service to our families who may need it the most.

Blue Ridge Learn at Home Initiative

Olympian Way

Check out our new YouTube channel highlighting Jim Thorpe Area School District pride and keeping everyone's spirit up. There are teacher messages to students, story-reading, and much more to come.